Homicide commander Capt. Stanley Brandford said Devon Ferguson, 26, of the 3800 block of Parkmount St. was charged with first-degree murder after officers who had seen video of a man fleeing the shooting scene spotted Ferguson riding a bicycle in the area.

Brothers Kurt and Karl Berrain were shot in the head at about 4:45 p.m. in front of a home in the 200 block of S. Wolfe St. Brandford said the group had gotten into an argument earlier about four blocks away.

"Mr. Ferguson was upset because one of the Berrain brothers had spoken to his girlfriend," Brandford said. "He thought it was inappropriate for him to do so."

Brandford said after they exchanged words, Ferguson "stalked" the brothers and shot them.

In March 2012, Ferguson was charged with multiple handgun violations. The charges were dismissed in December 2012 after an appeal, court records show.

He had drug distribution charges at the time of the killing. He was due to go to trial in January.

Defense attorney Ivan Bates, who represents Ferguson in the drug case, said he had not been apprised of the murder charges and could not comment. He said Ferguson had been polite and showed up to court on time in his dealings with him.

The killings of the Berrain brothers were the first of five killings between Tuesday evening and Thursday morning, pushing the city homicide count this year to 200 victims.

Katira Drummond, 24, was found shot to death early Thursday on a sidewalk in the 1500 block of W. Baltimore St., and 21-year-old Tyree Taylor was shot to death Wednesday night in the 800 block of Appleton St.

Police did not release details of the cases but asked anyone with information to call 410-396-2100.

By the time Barbara Mikulski ran for Congress in 1976, you could see the scorched earth of the battles she and others had fought against a federal highway plan that would have turned downtown Baltimore and some of its best neighborhoods into an ugly savannah of concrete.

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A winter weather advisory remains in effect for the Baltimore-Washington area from noon to 10 p.m., with up to a half inch of snow and sleet and less than a tenth of an inch of ice possible, the National Weather Service said.